Selected writing samples
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This epic new museum exhibit explores 100 years of NYC 'warts and all'
See more than 400 iconic NYC items, from Carrie Bradshaw's tutu to poetry by the Young Lords.
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As science denial grows, science museums fight back by teaching scientific literacy
The museums, which have largely escaped the culture wars, help teachers tackle topics like vaccines and climate change.
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Here’s how to do a DIY walking tour of Manhattan, from top to bottom
Up for a challenge? Here’s a guide and a map to try this DIY walking tour yourself.
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Art Beyond the Coasts: Five West Virginia Artists to Know
West Virginia, the only state wholly in Appalachia, tends to find itself in the national news for political reasons, but the state’s vibrant arts scene rarely receives national press.
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This Dolly Parton-approved “salad” is about to be your picnic mainstay
A Jello-filled, strawberry studded ode to summer.
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Sixty years ago this week, Warhol began his “souper” success
The paintings attracted attention, not all of it positive — but it turned out to be a pivotal moment in the artist’s career.
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The tiny building that pays tribute to a larger-than-life civil rights leader
Daisy Lampkin’s brick house is the newest addition to a beloved, shrunken cityscape in Pittsburgh.
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Lent heralds the return of Pittsburgh's glorious fish fry season
The Friday events serve fried fish, pierogies, and haluski with a side of community pride.
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What do you call the last slice of a bread loaf?
This slice goes by the heel, the crust, the end, the butt, the doorstop, knuust, or el codo, just to name a few, as the great bread end debate rages.
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Marisol & Warhol, reunited
By placing Marisol’s work in dialogue with Andy Warhol’s, a new exhibition reclaims her influence as a leading figure of the Pop art movement.
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Fresh Divide: Gardens sprout in Homewood, where residents ‘decided to grow our own food’
“No resident should have to leave their community to go grocery shopping.”
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Meet the woman who climbed every one of Pittsburgh’s 739 public staircases
To explore her adopted hometown, Laura Zurowski took things step by step on the hilly city’s historic routes.
Additional writing samples
This is a small selection of my 1,000+ articles over the years. Short on time? My favorite recent work is linked above.
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Focusing on community engagement, spotlighting women, showcasing immigrant food cultures, digging for fresh angles, and integrating history.
NYC’s newest art museum is completely fake | Time Out New York Sept. 2022
This new Chelsea gallery will make you rethink your relationship with your cellphone | Time Out New York, Sept. 2022
5 reasons why traveling on Amtrak is my ideal office | Business Insider, Aug. 2022
History Center editor's pet project is about 'connection and emotion and humor' | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 2021
Add these hidden gems to your Pittsburgh to-do list | Google Arts & Culture, Sept. 2021
Downtown Pittsburgh’s Skinny Building has a storied past and an uncertain future | The Incline, Feb. 2019
Fresh Divide: Inside Pittsburgh’s food deserts, where buying milk or veggies is impossible | The Incline, Oct. 2018 (note: the first in a series in partnership with 100 Days in Appalachia; I won funding for this project by pitching the piece in front of a public audience who voted on story ideas they wanted to read)
‘What’s up with the monkey balls?’ The story of Pittsburgh’s weirdest tree | The Incline, Oct. 2018
Why Pittsburghers add an ‘S’ to the end of words | The Incline, March 2018 (note: this story went viral, becoming The Incline's most-read with more than 150,000 pageviews)
The Pittsburgh Cookie Table’s history, mystery and etiquette | The Incline, April 2018
Why the Feast of the Seven Fishes lives on in Pittsburgh but not in Italy | The Incline, Dec. 2017
The Barmaid Bill, forbidding Pittsburgh women from bartending, was overturned 50 years ago this month | The Incline, Dec. 2017
The art of handmaking pierogies, Pittsburgh's most beloved food | Thrillist, June 2017
Where the locals eat and drink in Pittsburgh | Thrillist, Sept. 2014
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➡️ Broke news on The Incline’s website about the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, continued covering the city’s grief in the weeks after the massacre.
11 dead, 6 injured in shooting at Tree of Life Congregation in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh | The Incline, Oct. 2018
How you can help in the aftermath of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh | The Incline, Oct. 2018
This is Squirrel Hill: How one neighborhood became Pittsburgh’s ‘center of Jewish life’ | The Incline, Oct. 2018
Melvin Wax remembered as a mensch, jokester and dedicated past president of New Light Congregation | The Incline, Oct. 2018
Inseparable Bernice and Sylvan Simon remembered as ‘very much in love’ | The Incline, Nov. 2018
➡️ Documented protests following the police shooting of an unarmed Black teen in suburban Pittsburgh.
Protest grips the Allegheny County Courthouse as 100s demand “Justice for Antwon Rose” | The Incline, June 2018
➡️ Covered the death of a western Pennsylvania police officer who was shot by a fugitive. I was the first reporter on the scene who broke the story online before any other news source.
Cornered fugitive kills Lower Burrell officer, dies himself | Valley News Dispatch, Oct. 2011
Lower Burrell in shock over death of Patrolman Kotecki | Valley News Dispatch, Oct. 2011
Post's acquaintances have little to say in wake of killing | Valley News Dispatch, Oct. 2011
Schoolchildren join in tribute to slain Lower Burrell officer | Valley News Dispatch, Oct. 2011
➡️ Traveled to rural West Virginia twice to cover a plane crash that killed three Pittsburgh-area residents. I developed strong source relations, broke news when the plane was located, and drove my Subaru up a mountain and through a stream to track down evasive sources, stopping at nothing to get the story.
Search expands in West Virginia mountains | Valley News Dispatch, Oct. 2011
Blue skies help rescuers search for plane carrying Kiski Valley residents | Valley News Dispatch, Oct. 2011
Wreckage of plane discovered in West Virginia | Valley News Dispatch, Oct. 2011
Plane crash victims' bodies found in rugged part of West Virginia | Valley News Dispatch, Oct. 2011
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Spent five months submitting public records requests and culling data analyzing paid absences of 17,000 public school teachers in Pittsburgh region. With a team of reporters, published three stories about the high absence rate across the region, analyzing the financial and educational impacts of time out of the classroom.
Do teachers’ absences affect student learning? | Tribune-Review, Dec. 2012
Consistency critical component in students' success, experts say | Tribune-Review, Dec. 2012
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With sensitivity and empathy, I sought to tell the stories of under-covered communities often in their saddest moments. I built source relationships with the Amish, who ultimately offered unexpected access and candor to a story about a tragic fire. In a separate story, I conducted several interviews through an interpreter with people who are deaf.
Amish boy dies; father fights for life | Tribune-Review, Jan. 2012
'I can't be angry at God,' Amish grandmother says | Tribune-Review, March 2012
Amish woman, unborn child dead after lightning strike | Tribune-Review, July 2012
Chips fly silently at Deaf Timberfest | Tribune-Review, June 2012
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Series chronicling the remarkable recovery of a western Pennsylvania Air Force pilot who was shot in the legs during a mission in Afghanistan and his determination to not only walk again but to fly again in a war zone.
First installment: Wounded Upper Burrell pilot's true grit put to test | Valley News Dispatch, Aug. 2010
Second installment: Wounded Upper Burrell native determined to fly again in war zone | Valley News Dispatch, June 2011
Third installment: Upper Burrell chopper pilot heals, ready to redeploy | Valley News Dispatch, Sept. 2011
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Used issues-driven reporting style to cover education, local government, crime, courts, business, drilling, and community features across the Pittsburgh region.
Harlem Shake videos show the dilemma school officials face with discipline related to new technology | Tribune-Review, March 2013
Western Pennsylvania hospitals constantly aware of threat of violence | Tribune-Review, March 2013
North Huntingdon’s odd problem: ‘too much money’ | Tribune-Review, Nov. 2012
Western Pa. school districts hit Web to lure students, save money | Tribune-Review, Oct. 2012
Marcellus shale boom offers Alle-Kiski Valley job opportunities | Valley News Dispatch, March 2011
Offbeat funeral services specialize in celebrating the deceased | Valley News Dispatch, Aug. 2013
Veteran, outlook rise on new legs | Valley News Dispatch, Nov. 2010
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Published a Pittsburgh bucket list book that became an Amazon bestseller and am currently working on book No. 2, this one with a focus on history. Working with my publisher to promote the book, host book signings, present at events, and speak to media.
100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die published by Reedy Press, May 2019
Currently writing: Lost Treasures of Pittsburgh to be published by Reedy Press, date TBD
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For a stint, worked on the other side of the communications business, promoting Carnegie Science Center's exhibits and programming to the media through press releases, marketing materials, and spokeswoman duties.
Carnegie Science Center hosts Engineer the Future | Carnegie Science Center, Feb. 2017
Science Center announces seven Carnegie Science Award winners | Carnegie Science Center, April 2017
2017 Carnegie Science Awards recognize leaders in science, technology, and education | Carnegie Science Center, May 2017
Carnegie Science Center hosting STEM Pathway Institute | Carnegie Science Center, June 2017
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I spent all four years of college writing for my college newspaper, The Daily Collegian at Penn State, working my way up to editor-in-chief. I covered breaking news, Greek life, student affairs, Thon (the world's largest student-run philanthropy), local government, crime, courts, and even a sports story or two. As editor, I wrote several columns.
Editor reflects on four years of late nights | The Daily Collegian, April 2010
Editor: Bill Welch will be sorely missed | The Daily Collegian, Sept. 2009
Snow King prepares for thaw | The Daily Collegian, March 2009
This kiss | The Daily Collegian, Feb. 2009
Thon survives economy | The Daily Collegian, Feb. 2009
Stidd recovery slow but steady | The Daily Collegian, July 2007
Swastika found on Jewish frat | The Daily Collegian, April 2007
Thon a 'Golden' opportunity for birthday boy | The Daily Collegian, Feb. 2007
Four Diamonds is forever | The Daily Collegian, Jan. 2007